Jeff Shade's 'PLAYGROUND', A New Dance Work Opens 12/4

The Jeff Shade DANCE PROJECT will present six performances of PLAYGROUND, a world-premiere 80-minute dance-theater piece December 4th, 5th & 6th at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center. Featuring Original Music by Brent Lord, all proceeds from PLAYGROUND will benefit 2 Suicide Prevention Hotlines: The Trevor Project and the Nine Line.

PLAYGROUND is an entirely new dance theater piece created by Jeff Shade (former Fosse protégé and winner of OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY award at last year's New York Musical Theater Festival) about one man's journey through the realm of play. PLAYGROUND will deliver provocative and inspiring dance, as well as create awareness of needed emotional support systems and raise funds to support the Trevor Project (www.thetrevorproject.org) and the Nine Line (www.covenanthouse.org/nineline).

Jeff Shade is a former Bob Fosse dancer (Sweet Charity), dance captain of Broadway's Chicago, and former teaching faculty at Harvard. Mr. Shade kicks off the Jeff Shade Dance Project with his first full-length dance piece (of hope, and life, and an eclectic mix of dance styles) titled PLAYGROUND. Mr. Shade has choreographed for the New York Musical Theater Festival, the Rosie O. Donnell Show, and concert companies around the country, to name a few. He has performed on Broadway in Fosse's Sweet Charity, Reinking's Chicago, and Donald Sadler's Teddy & Alice. He has a master s degree in dance therapy from Lesley University, and an MBA from Columbia University.

Mr. Shade currently teaches jazz, tap, and theater dance at STEPS ON BROADWAY in New York City. He was the founder of House of the Roses (a weekly dance-based outreach network serving hundreds of youth in New York homeless shelters). He was the co-winner of the OUTSTANDING CHOREOGRAPHY award at last year's New York Musical Theater Festival.

The cast of PLAYGROUND includes: Al Blackstone, Zachary Denison, Jason Dougherty, Donielle Ej Janora, Rashaan James II, Ryan Kasprzak, Tiffany Powell, Chad Riter and Mark Roland PERFORMANCE & TICKET INFORMATIONDecember 4th at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pmDecember 5that Noon and 7:00 pmDecember 6th at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm All Tickets are $10.00 Performances will be held at the Theater at the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 West 60th Street/New York, NY Tickets for PLAYGROUND are available on line at www.brownpapertickets.com or by calling 1-800-838-3006 for phone sales.